E3 2006: Eureka Seven Hands-On

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We take command of a robot boarder. That's cracked out!

By Juan Castro

There's futuristic sci-fi action headed for the PS2 by way of Namco Bandai's Eureka Seven. Not just any sci-fi action, mind you, but mech sci-fi action. Which most sane people consider to be intrinsically cooler, anyway. And for those who may not know, the television series (and the game) revolve around hover boards that ride special particles in the air.

Well, that's how the action starts. You play a young board rider named Sumner Stargeon. And at the start of the game, you're participating in a board race without a care in the world. But as the world grows violent, the government creates a specific type of mechanized assault robot that uses the same technology as the ubiquitous hover board. Since you're one of the best riders, the government asks you to pilot a prototype LFO robot, and join the UF Force LFO Riders.

The events in Eureka Seven for PS2 take place before those of the anime series. So the first thing you do is participate in a board race as a scrapping young lad. And that's exactly how the E3 demo starts, too. The race sequence didn't control all that well, but that's forgivable since the game isn't finished. Still, it played ok once you got used to it. You basically had to accelerate past obstacles and other riders. The secret to winning is your boost power, which runs out quickly. The only way to get it back is to perform tricks by pressing the square button and pressing the analog stick up, down, left and right.

The second part of the demo combined board riding and mech combat. You first had to glide around the environment and find your LFO unit. Once you jump in, things get a little hectic. Controlling the LFO feels reasonably intuitive. You can drive it around like a tank, for one. But you can also transform into a bipedal mech for melee combat. Each variation can launch homing missiles and fire lasers, as well as perform a charge attack. Of course, it's better to use the tank for long-range attacks where the bipedal form works best for close quarters combat.

The last part of the demo took place entirely in mid-air. This sequence actually felt more intuitive than the other two, so it's a good thing the representative on hand said the final game would feature many more air stages. It controlled a little bit like the first board race only walls or, better, the ground didn't confine you. Darting through the air didn't feel as smooth as Zone of the Enders 2, but again, it's not done.